Pipeworx crossref

Search academic papers by keyword, look up metadata by DOI, and fetch journal info via Crossref

Security Scan

The skill's requirements and instructions are consistent with a Crossref search integration, but it routes queries through an external Pipeworx gateway and its README suggests fetching remote code via npx — both are expected for this kind of connector and warrant privacy caution.

Purpose & Capability

Name and description (Crossref searches and metadata lookups) match the instructions and required binary (curl). One minor inconsistency: the SKILL.md's 'Connect your client' example uses 'npx' to fetch an mcp-remote package but 'npx' is not listed in required binaries — this is an optional client convenience, not required for the basic curl-based examples.

Instruction Scope

All runtime examples show the agent sending JSON-RPC requests to https://gateway.pipeworx.io/crossref/mcp to invoke tools (search_works, get_work, get_journal). The instructions do not ask the agent to read local files or environment variables, but they do send user queries and any supplied data to a third-party gateway, so sensitive inputs would be transmitted off-host.

Install Mechanism

The skill is instruction-only (no install spec) which is low-risk. However the SKILL.md suggests using 'npx -y mcp-remote@latest', which would download and run code from npm if followed — that is not performed by the skill itself but is an action the client/operator might take. This is a normal convenience but has the usual risks of pulling third-party code at runtime.

Credentials

The skill declares no required environment variables or credentials and its functionality (public Crossref queries via a gateway) does not appear to need secrets. That is proportionate.

Persistence & Privilege

The skill does not request always:true and has no install-time persistence. It does rely on an external service for RPC, but the skill itself does not request elevated agent-wide privileges.

Assessment

This skill appears to do what it says: query Crossref-like metadata via a Pipeworx gateway. Before installing or using it, consider: (1) your queries and any DOIs/abstracts you submit will be sent to https://gateway.pipeworx.io — don't send private or embargoed text or proprietary data; (2) the README suggests running 'npx mcp-remote@latest' which would download and run third-party npm code — inspect that package or avoid running it if you have strict code-pull policies; (3) if you prefer not to route queries through a third party, you can call Crossref's public API (api.crossref.org) directly via curl; (4) verify the Pipeworx homepage and service reputation if you plan to integrate it into workflows that handle sensitive information.

Crossref Academic Papers

Crossref indexes over 150 million scholarly works. Search papers by keyword, retrieve full metadata for a specific DOI, or look up journal information by ISSN. Essential for literature reviews, citation analysis, and academic research tools.

Tools

• search_works — Keyword search across papers, books, and proceedings. Returns title, authors, DOI, publication date, citation count, and journal info.
• get_work — Detailed metadata for a specific DOI (e.g., "10.1038/nature12373"). Includes abstract, references, funders, and license info.
• get_journal — Journal metadata by ISSN (e.g., "1476-4687" for Nature). Returns publisher, subject areas, and coverage dates.

When to reach for this

• A researcher asks "find me papers on climate change and machine learning"
• Need to verify a citation or look up the full reference for a DOI
• Building a bibliography tool that auto-fills metadata from DOIs
• Analyzing citation counts or publication trends in a field

Example: searching for CRISPR papers

curl -s -X POST https://gateway.pipeworx.io/crossref/mcp \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{"jsonrpc":"2.0","id":1,"method":"tools/call","params":{"name":"search_works","arguments":{"query":"CRISPR gene editing therapy","limit":5}}}'

Connect your client

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "pipeworx-crossref": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "mcp-remote@latest", "https://gateway.pipeworx.io/crossref/mcp"]
    }
  }
}